Sunday, May 23, 2010

Over a year ago I wrote a blog post titled Vinyl Cutting: Everything You Wanted to Know about how to use your Cricut, Silhouette, Wishblade or other vinyl cutting machine to cut vinyl lettering. To this day that post still shows up at the top of search engines and gets between ten and twenty hits per day. It's a lot of reading but it's one of the few places online where you can find detailed information about how to begin vinyl cutting.

I am a graphic designer for Peppermint Creative, creating hand drawn shapes and word art specifically designed for vinyl cutting machines. I absolutely love what I do, not only because I get to draw all day but because my work also helps others. The work I do from home helps other women and mothers like me stay at home and enjoy the benefits of at-home businesses. It is incredibly fulfilling and I very much wish to share my knowledge and know-how with others looking to begin their own vinyl businesses.

To accomplish this I have written a series of blog articles giving start-to-finish help for anyone looking to break in to the vinyl industry. I have seen what sells and what does not in the vinyl world and what makes one business succeed while another fails.

Hint: Vinyl shops that use graphics designed by professionals specifically intended for the vinyl industry, that are more unique than their competitor's typed text designs, enjoy more frequent and higher-dollar sales. This is because their product line is fresh, constantly added to and they can invest their time in creating more eye-catching example images. And as you know, your example images are everything and make or break your sales. This is what makes one vinyl business more successful than others: Investment in beautiful graphics and creating stunning product example images that generate a feeling of desire to buy the vinyl in the customers who view them.

Want to try out our graphics? Grab our Freebie and put it to work for you! We offer a new freebie and brand new designs monthly so check back often.

If you have a vinyl business and are looking to increase your sales immediately, check out our entire line of WordArt, craft-friendly BlockArt and Hand Drawn Shapes. (Hand drawn means our shapes are exclusive to our site - they're not dingbats and you won't find them anywhere else! Yet they're smoother and cleaner cutting than fonts because of our own 3-step optimization process.)

All our commercial vector graphics come with a commercial license so you can cut and sell as much vinyl as you want. Our freebies are commercial use, too, so you can try our graphics and grow your sales without any expense! Each graphic pack contains unwelded, repositionable elements, in addition to regular welded designs, that allow you to mix and match embellishment pieces and word art phrases to create your shop's own unique product offerings. You can even use the pieces to make brand new vinyl designs that only your shop cuts and sells! It's everything you'd get from hiring a professional graphic designer without investing hundreds in each design.

File formats we sell: EPS, SVG, GSD (personal use packs only) with JPG and PNG files included in each download so you can quickly add your new graphics to your existing catalogs.

Have more questions? Leave a comment! Peppermint Creative does not sell cut vinyl and we're always interested in helping your business succeed!

Finding customers is easy if you know where to look but sometimes the easiest tasks can be elusive. I have compiled a list of ways to drum up quick and easy business to get your cut vinyl lettering sales up!

This is part of the vinyl cutting business informational series I wrote for the PeppermintCreative.com blog. It's not an e-book and it's totally free & unlike any other compilation of help you'll find online for learning how to start a vinyl business. (That's because vinyl businesses are so profitable, owners don't have TIME to go back and write how they started because they're busy cutting, weeding and making money!) Plus there are additional tips for keeping your ideas fresh and innovative so customers keep coming back for more of your vinyl lettering designs!

How much can I make per month selling cut vinyl lettering with my Cricut (with Sure-Cuts-A-Lot SCAL software), Silhouette SD, Wishblade, Inspiration, Gazelle, Craft Robo or other vinyl cutting machine?

A "tiny" mom-run business that sells vinyl by placing photos, prices and a contact e-mail for placing orders on a free blog site with part-time work of 10 or less hours per week makes around $200 per month. This jumps to $300-$400 if selling on eBay, Etsy.com and/or ArtFire.com is added. $500 or more per month in sales is easily attainable with the tips & advice on how to increase local vinyl sales and repeat vinyl orders that is found on the PeppermintCreative.com Blog Vinyl Cutting Series of articles.

Vinyl selling makes so much money because even large, blank walls can be filled for under $50 and the vinyl is customizeable, comes in dozens of different colors to match every decor and is easily affordable for every budget. In fact, cut vinyl designs for baby nurseries and children's rooms is THE NUMBER ONE MOST POPULAR REQUEST and the thing MOST SOLD ONLINE because babies continue to be born and nurseries continue to be converted to "big kid" rooms and moms want those blank walls decorated, even in a down economy.

Find ways to sell more vinyl locally and online and turn your cricut, silhouette SD, wishblade, inspiration, gazelle, craft robo or vinyl cutting machine into an at home small business where you can EASILY make several hundred and up to several thousands of extra income every month!

Why is all this help free?

When I began designing graphics for Peppermint Creative I wanted to help other stay-at-home moms like myself earn enough extra income that they could STAY at home! Family is very important to me and I believe that a strong family is the foundation for a moral society; which I feel we are beginning to lack in this day and age. Drawing is what I love and if doing what I love can help others stay at home too, I want to do it even more!

When I realized the lack of good, reliable information was the only thing holding most women back from turning their vinyl cutting hobby into a profitable business I began writing articles on my blog and complied a series for the Peppermint Creative blog. This isn't an e-book. We don't profit from the information on the blog. All of it is intended to help you realize how truly EASY it is to begin selling cut vinyl and completed vinyl home decor. Give it a try - we even have 100% FREE Commercial-Use Graphic Freebies in EPS, SVG and GSD with JPG & PNG image files you can download, cut and sell just to try it out, without ever spending a dime. The vinyl industry is so lucrative, you'll make money your first month and when business is so good you don't have time to create your own designs, I'd love to help! In the meantime I'm going to keep you well-stocked with fresh, always-rotating freebies to help get your business off the ground. :)

Read the info, download the freebies and give it a try! We'll keep you updated on new freebies and newsletter members get additional discounts and even coupon codes for more FREE commercial graphic downloads! If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me directly at TaySilverGraphics[at]gmail.com!

In any business it's a wise idea to keep your product looking fresh and innovation begins with coming up with creative new ideas for how to use cut vinyl lettering. Whether you've just bought a Cricut, Silhouette, Wishblade, Craft Robo, Gazelle, Inspiration or other craft cutter machine or you're a seasoned vinyl cutting pro, we've got the tips you need to get the vinyl off the wall and get you thinking out of the box!

The creative team has GOBS of ideas photographed and posted in the Peppermint Creative Gallery and DOZENS of helpful tips and tricks for starting a vinyl cutting business, finding and importing vector shapes, coupon codes & FREE EPS, SVG & GSD format vector files and directions for making vinyl crafts are on the PeppermintCreative.com Blog. Check them out and generate some fresh, new vinyl application ideas today!

Some Quick Ideas for Chalkboard Vinyl:When an order is placed for chalkboard vinyl you end up cutting one huge shape and inevitably have extra space that is just wasted. DON'T WASTE IT! Here's a suggestion of what you can do to double your business sales using vinyl scraps:

3. Type up a small, quick direction sheet that tells customers how to apply and use chalkboard vinyl and gives application tips on what to do with the labels.

Hint: chalkboard vinyl eraseable labels work GREAT on metal buckets, glass jars, kitchen canisters, children's room toy storage buckets & bins, nursery storage bins and they can even be placed on top of "junk mail" free magnets to turn the magnet into a chalkboard magnet for the fridge!)

Tip: Suggest that customers blunt their chalk by scribbling on a sheet of paper before writing on the vinyl because cheap 99¢ chalk can sometimes have sharp edges that may scratch or indent the blackboard vinyl if the user is not careful.

4. Print your small direction sheet and include one direction sheet and TWO free chalkboard vinyl labels with every paid order you ship. Not only will customers be THRILLED to find a freebie in their order, they'll be excited to use the labels and will know just who to contact for more.

Keep in mind the more visibility your vinyl gets, the better and using your scraps to create vinyl freebies doubles your exposure and greatly increases the opportunity for word-of-mouth advertising when friends ask about your vinyl! Dry erase and chalk board vinyl labels are an excellent way to boost interest and business without spending an extra cent!

If you're looking for the best quality chalkboard vinyl, SignWarehouse.com sells this premium quality material that is smooth cutting, luxuriously thick and provides the silkiest writing surface with the easiest, cleanest erasing! It's even rated to last 2 years in FULL ELEMENT EXPOSURE outdoor weather! (Much longer lasting if applied on a covered porch or patio where it is partially protected from the elements.)